History Browser

The men of the British 43rd Regiment of Foot were part of a 2,000 strong army under Lietenant-Colonel Robert Monkton that took Fort Beauséjour after a brief siege in the summer of 1755. At left can be seen men of the grenadier company, distinguished by their pointed mitre headdresses. In the centre are ordinary soldiers who have the tricorne hats worn by most of the regiment. The young men to the right are drummers, wearing coats with reversed colours (white with red facings instead of red with white). This was intended to make drummers easy to spot in a fight, which was important, since drum beats were used to give orders. The presence of women and children seem odd in a military encampment, but each British regiment would have a small number of soldiers' families following them on campaign. Reconstruction by Lewis Parker. (Parks Canada)

Listing of films from the National Film Board. Archival footage includes training films and news magazines from the Second World War.

Reporter Marion Angus describes the work of female ADC plane-spotters in this 1943 radio broadcast. These homefront volunteers sight, recognize (ie. identify) and report aircraft flying overhead.

Stories of the contributions of the industrial centre of Hamilton to the war effort, both through military might and industry, make up a large part of the Spectator clippings in this collection.

Debunking of myth of threat posed by Japanese-Canadians during the Second World War, through interviews with both government officials and victims of internment. Argument that it was in fact the very act of resettling and interning Japanese-Canadians that could have alienated them enough to pose a threat in case of Japanese invasion of the Pacific coast.

Almost 9,000 members of Canada’s armed forces became prisoners of the enemy during World War II, as well as several hundred Canadian civilians. Undernourishment and boredom were the prisoners' great enemies. There were worries at home about prisoners in the deteriorating conditions of 1945, but nearly all were liberated by the advancing Allied armies, including the Russian Red Army, or freed themselves when the enemy surrendered.

In the late summer of 1759, time pressed on the British besiegers of Quebec - to avoid winter, they would have to raise the siege in October. After the failure at Montmorency, Wolfe's British army began a campaign of pillaging and burning Canadian homes, striking at the Canadian militia.

Canadian war veterans discuss and explain the reasons behind their opposition to reparations for Japanese-Canadians.

The war changed Canada. It became a rich industrial nation producing aircraft, ships, weapons, vehicles, and food not only for the national war effort but also for the country's allies. In the "Hamilton Spectator," as well as in other newspapers, the war was seen as a struggle to save Great Britain, the mother country of so many Canadians, from being wiped off the map.

This house was reconstructed in the style of those built by the Vikings at l’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland around the year 1000. (Parks Canada)